Photos actually ‘pop’ with BumpyPhoto

Perhaps you’ve always looked at your family photos and thought, “Jeez, these are just too flat.” If so you might want to take a look at the custom-made photo reliefs from BumpyPhoto based out of Portland, Oregon. The company uses 3D-printing technology to produce full-color 3D relief sculptures of 2D photos.

Users upload a regular photo to the BumpyPhoto website where their software creates a 3D depth map of the photo. The company also employs designers to iron out any problems with the conversion, which means that busy images will take longer to create. They accept images as low as 2-megapixels, but higher resolutions mean better results. Users can request previews of the 3D maps for approval once it’s created.

BumpyPhoto uses the map to create the 3D relief out of a hard resin composite that the website describes as “plaster-like.” BumpyPhoto warns that some layering might be visible in the finished product because the 24-bit coloring added to final product is actually part of the relief’s outer layer.

The reliefs come in two different styles; a full photo where the background remains mostly flat or cutouts where the background is removed. BumpyPhoto recommends certain types of photos for the product to work best: only faces, full bodies, pets, cars, buildings or distinct objects. For instance, a person wearing glasses isn’t exactly ideal.